The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Internal combustion engines induce combustion of an air and fuel mixture to reciprocally drive pistons within cylinders. The pistons rotatably drive a crankshaft, which transfers drive torque to a driveline. Air is drawn into an intake manifold of the engine and is distributed to the cylinders. More specifically, the air, and in some engines the air and fuel mixture, enters the cylinder through one or more intake ports, which are each selectively opened via actuation of a corresponding intake valve. After combustion, the combustion gases are exhausted from the cylinder through one or more exhaust ports, each of which are selectively opened via actuation of a corresponding exhaust valve.
The movement of the intake and exhaust valves, and thus the opening and closing of the intake and exhaust ports, is regulated by intake and exhaust camshafts. As the camshafts rotate, cam lobes of the respective camshafts induce movement of the respective valves. The camshafts are rotatably driven by the crankshaft via a timing sprocket and timing chain. The timing chain is driven by timing sprockets associated with the crankshaft and the camshafts to enable the crankshaft to drive the camshafts.
The movements of the valves are timed to provide opening and closing of the ports at the proper times during the piston strokes. This timing is provided in terms of the rotational position of each of the intake and exhaust camshafts with respect to each other and with respect to the rotational position of the crankshaft. The rotational position of the crankshaft corresponds to the linear position of the pistons within their respective cylinders (e.g., bottom-dead-center (BDC), top-dead-center (TDC)).
The rotational position of each of the camshafts with respect to the crankshaft performs an influential role in the combustion process. For example, the timing of the opening of the intake port with respect to the piston position influences the amount of air that is drawn into the cylinder during the expansion stroke of the piston. Similarly, the timing of the opening of the exhaust port with respect to the piston position influences the amount of combustion product gas that is exhausted from the cylinder.
Accordingly, engine systems include sensors that monitor the rotational positions of each of the camshafts and the crankshaft. More specifically, a target wheel including a known number of teeth is fixed for rotation with each of the respective camshafts and crankshaft. An associated sensor detects the rising and falling edges of the teeth as they pass the sensor and the sensor generates a pulse-train based thereon. Each target wheel includes a gap (e.g., one or two teeth missing) and/or a wider or thinner tooth, each of which operates as a reference point to determine the rotational position of the respective camshafts and crankshaft.
Because the crankshaft drives the camshafts via the timing sprockets and chain, and because the timing of the intake and exhaust valve movement influences the combustion process, engine systems traditionally monitor the relative rotational positions of the crankshaft position and the camshafts. This is achieved by monitoring the relative positions of the crankshaft pulse-train and the camshaft pulse-trains generated by the respective sensors. If the relative position of the crankshaft to the camshafts deviates by a certain degree, a diagnostic trouble code (DTC) is set indicating a fault with the timing (i.e., relative positions) of the camshafts relative to the crankshaft.
Traditional camshaft to crankshaft timing diagnostics are not as robust as desired. More specifically, traditional diagnostics aren't as accurate as desired and can produce false faults (e.g., setting a DTC when no actual fault exists), or, in some cases, can fail to detect a fault (e.g., fail to set a DTC when a fault exists).